What challenges did you overcome throughout this inquiry project? How did you go about
overcoming these challenges?
My topic focused on all types of pets however, during my research I consistently found information on the most common types of pets. Pets such as cats or dogs were the most frequent to me mentioned yet I still tried to find information that was based more generally on pets as a whole and tried to avoid resources solely talking about one specific pet. Another challenge I faced was finding credible sources. Many websites were short with little to no resources cited such as websites resembling those with titles such as “5 facts about how pets help you”. To overcome this, I simply continued looking for websites that were credible and made sure to identify what made them a valid resource to use. I looked for details such as a reference list, no ads and a reliable author.
How did this inquiry change the way you think?
Since researching this topic my mind has opened to the various reasons people could own pets. As a young child, I was not allowed to get any and only thought of pets as cute animals living in someone’s house for fun. Now that I’m older and have done all this research it is apparent to me that many people get pets as a way to improve both their emotional well-being and their mental well-being. The relationship humans have with pets is extraordinary. Pets provide us with so many benefits in our daily lives and now I will never look at them the same way. While pets still may be cute or just funny, I changed the way I think about them as they are more important to us than I once realized. Additionally, I changed the way I think about ESA’s. I originally thought they were also trained like service animals and I am glad I learned more about them and how they help people around the world.
How did this investigation impact your future decisions?
I have decided that in the future I will be getting another pet and I will have a family where a pet is always present. Especially when I’m older with kids I think it’s important for them to grow up understanding and having a healthy relationship with pets to benefit them. Moreover, this investigation will impact my future decisions into getting my own ESA or helping others to get an animal licensed to be an ESA.
What impact will this investigation have on others locally and/or globally?
This investigation will allow others to learn the benefits a pet can have for their mental health and spread the word to other people. If more people know this information it might influence individuals struggling with their mental health to consider getting a pet as an option. As well as, this information is an overall interesting thing to know! Since this investigation also took a look at ESA’s, individuals learned about how these pets can benefit them and how they have changed other people’s lives and improved their mental health. Additionally, my research found that alternative solutions to aid people with mental health issues were usually more costly especially if they did not have insurance. For example, therapy sessions would have been more costly to attend compared to having a pet where an individual can also experience support and unconditional love in the comfort of their own home. Another example is expensive medications especially if their insurance did not cover them.
